Latin Translation in the Renaissance
The Theory and Practice of Leonardo Bruni, Giannozzo Manetti and Desiderius Erasmus

This book attempts to provide a broad perspective on the development of Latin writing about translation.

Paul Botley (Author)

9780521837170, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 July 2004

218 pages, 1 b/w illus.
22.4 x 14.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.429 kg

'This book, though extremely detailed, is very well written. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the way in which Greek studies began in Western Europe, and the part Latin played in this process. It will also be of great value to anyone who is interested in translation studies, because the author spends time analysing both the theory and the practice of his exempla.' Classics Ireland

Latin translations of Greek works have received much less attention than vernacular translations of classical works. This book examines the work of three Latin translators of the Renaissance. The versions of Aristotle made by Leonardo Bruni (1370–1444) were among the most controversial translations of the fifteenth century and he defended his methods in the first modern treatise on translation, De interpretatione recta. Giannozzo Manetti (1396–1459) produced versions of Aristotle and the Bible and he too ultimately felt obliged to publish his own defence of the translator's art, Apologeticus. Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1469–1536) chose to defend his own translation of the New Testament, one of the most controversial translations ever printed, with a substantial and expanding volume of annotations. This book attempts to provide a broad perspective on the development of Latin writing about translation by drawing together the ideas of these three very different translators.

Introduction
1. Leonardo Bruni
2. Gionnozzo Manetti
3. Erasmus and the New Testament
4. Renaissance translations: some categories
Appendix
References
Index of names.

Subject Areas: Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]